All Friends Together
by Gary Merchant
Summary: Jack Harkness pays a visit to the TARDIS, and find things have changed.


_This was written before Doomsday, and when details of Torchwood were scarce._

ALL FRIENDS TOGETHER

Jack grinned as his eyes took in the familiar shape of the TARDIS. He ran up to the door, key in hand. He was glad he'd kept that key. There was no telling when he might have needed it, in case of any emergency. This time though, it was just a social call. "Hey, Doctor," he called out, as he entered. "It's me. I got your message."

It was good to be back, if only for a short while. His current work kept him pretty busy, but at least for a few short hours, time was his own. And he couldn't deny he'd missed the Doctor and Rose. "Doctor?" The Time Lord was bent over the console, looking different to how Jack remembered him. "I heard you'd regenerated. Hmm, a lot more hair, from what I can see. How are you?"

The silent figure looked up in puzzlement. "Jack?"

Then he saw the Doctor properly, and caught a breath. He hadn't expected such a dramatic change. "My God! Is that really you?"

"You were expecting someone else?" In place of the tall, leather jacketed friend he remembered, there now stood someone totally different. The dark hair was longer, almost shoulder length, and the clothes were more figure hugging, emphasising the Doctor's new body shape. "Yes, Jack. It is me. I imagine this must be something of a shock."

"That's one way of putting it, yeah." Standing before Jack Harkness was the Doctor – in female form.

The two of them sat together, Jack still taking it all in. "I know all about regeneration, Doctor, but I thought once you were born male, you stayed that way."

"There were… complications." The Doctor seemed reluctant to talk. "In extreme circumstances, Gallifreyan gender can be altered, if there's no other way to survive."

"I guess so." He laughed nervously. "This is so weird, Doc. It's gonna take some getting used to."

"Well, it hasn't been easy for me, either." The Doctor leaned forward, placing her hand in his. "I'd be grateful if you could stay for a while, until my regeneration has fully stabilised."

Jack felt her gently squeeze his hand, and swallowed. He was starting to feel uncomfortable. He looked around, desperate to change the subject. "So, where's Rose?"

"Oh, she left," the Doctor replied. "I don't think she could accept me as a woman, despite all we'd been through."

"That's tough. I'll miss her." Jack gently extracted his hand from hers. "Look, I can't promise anything, but if you really need my help, then I'll stick around, ok?"

The Doctor sounded relieved. "You're a true friend."

Jack found his room easily enough, and dropped his bag in the corner. He sat down on the bed, his head turning cartwheels over this latest revelation. He could well understand why Rose couldn't stay, having seen how close she and the Doctor were, even in the short time he'd known them. To then be presented with a regeneration – not to mention the switch from male to female - it must have blown her mind, poor kid.

As for Jack, he wasn't sure himself how he felt about the Doctor's new look, or her feelings for him. Was it his imagination, or had she been coming onto him earlier? He didn't deny he was prone to the occasional flirt – well, more than occasional – but the Doctor was a friend. It just didn't feel right to go down that road.

He reached into his bag and pulled out his laptop. If he was going to stay here for any length of time, there were people he needed to advise about the situation.

The screen sprang into life, a blank email ready for use. Jack had barely begun typing when a message box appeared in the centre of the screen. 'You have one message' it read. Curious, he logged into the Stored Messages icon. The brief message flashed onto the screen, its content surprising Jack. He had to read it twice to be sure it wasn't a joke.

'Jack,

That is not the Doctor. Don't trust her.

Rose.'

She smiled as Jack returned. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah." Except he knew that wasn't the case. The email had shaken him, but he couldn't dismiss it out of hand. Not until he had proof. "So, how long have you been here, Doc?"

"In the TARDIS, or on Earth?"

"Both."

She thought for a moment. "I've been on Earth for about a week, why?"

"I just wondered if you'd been in touch with Mickey," he said. "You know how she worries."

"Oh, she's fine," came the reply. "Once I'd assured her that I was the Doctor, she accepted things."

"That's good." One question down. "So what's keeping you here? I'd have thought you'd be halfway around the universe by now."

She stared at him. "You ask a lot of questions." There was a trace of hardness to her voice.

"Hey, don't get tetchy on me, Doc." Jack raised his hands in mock surrender. "But if I'm to help you, then I need to know what's been happening." The standoff only lasted for a second, but to Jack it felt longer.

"Well, if you must know, I'm stranded," she finally answered. "I can't seem to get the TARDIS to work."

Jack shrugged. "Well, she can be temperamental."

"Which is why I contacted you," she explained. "With Rose gone, you're the only person I can rely on. I need your help, Jack."

Yeah, I just bet you do, he thought. "Well, it looks like you've made a few changes to the console, Doc." Pieces of equipment had been fixed to its outer casing. "Hey, this is new."

"Don't touch that!" Her hand reached out.

"Why not?" He picked up the oblong box next to the scanner, keeping it just out of reach. "I know this console inside out, and this doesn't belong here, not part of the TARDIS at all. In fact, I'd say this box operates some kind of containment field. So what happens if I press this switch?" Before she could stop him, the machine was activated. Directly ahead of him the air shimmered against the far wall, revealing the figures of Rose and… was this skinny geek in pinstripes the Doctor? A nod from Rose told him so, as they joined him at the console.

"Well, isn't this cosy?" said the Doctor, cheerfully. "All friends together – well, almost," he added, nodding at the woman facing them. "And you nearly got away with it, didn't you?"

Jack looked from the woman to the Doctor. "So who is she, and how did she get into the TARDIS?"

"She's known as the Rani," the Doctor replied, leaning against the surrounding rail. "Our paths have crossed a few times before. From what I can gather, she's been stuck on Earth for some months."

"My own TARDIS was damaged beyond repair," the Rani told them. "When I found myself in this appalling backwater, I realised that none of the technology I needed could be found here. I was living from hand to mouth for days on end." She wrinkled her nose. "You wouldn't believe some of the distasteful offers I received."

The Doctor, Rose and Jack could hardly keep a straight face at that comment.

"Then I began to frequent one of these Internet Café places," she went on. "It's amazing what you can find out, if you look hard enough. That's how I discovered that the Doctor was back on Earth." She addressed him directly. "You seem to have amassed quite a following on this planet, Doctor."

He accepted the compliment. "Just lucky, I suppose. So, then you tracked me down."

"It wasn't hard." The Rani smiled. "You have to admit, an antiquated Police Telephone Box does rather stand out. I'd have thought you would have repaired the Chameleon Circuit by now."

"We like it that way," said Rose. "And it didn't stop you trying to nick the TARDIS for yourself, did it?"

"And how else was I supposed to escape this dreary planet?" the Rani exclaimed. "It was a simple matter to let myself in. And my portable containment field kept you out of the way."

"Let me guess," Jack offered. "It was some kind of time shift relay, so that the Doctor and Rose could see us, but shielded them from view." He turned to Rose. "Thanks for the message, by the way."

Rose smiled. "We did wonder if it got through."

"What message?" the Rani demanded. "How could you possibly have made contact?"

"Well, you were kind of hoist by your own petard," the Doctor told her. "Your time shift relay took Rose and I out of this dimension, but allowed us to interact with the TARDIS. I was able to persuade her to shut down some key systems while giving the impression that everything still worked. And when Jack switched on his laptop, the TARDIS gave Rose a brief window of opportunity to send a warning about you, Rani. Now, wasn't that clever of her?"

"Fascinating." The Rani tried to appear disinterested, but no one was fooled. "So, what happens now, Doctor?"

Rose had her own solution. "Let's chuck her out, leave her to it."

"No, we can't do that, though the idea definitely appeals." The Doctor considered his options, before addressing the Rani. "There's a penal colony in the Rubinus system. Not ideal, but it's the best I can do for now."

She nodded, accepting the offer. "You always were the compassionate sort, Doctor. It's a failing, but it seems to have stood you in good stead."

"I'm sure I can live with such a burden," the Doctor assured her. "Oh, and I'll take back the TARDIS key, thank you."

The TARDIS materialised back on Earth, in the same spot it had vacated just moments before. The Doctor, Rose and Jack stepped out, breathing in the cool air. Rose sighed "So, the Rani's safely under lock and key."

"Oh, for a while, definitely," said the Doctor. "Although she's not the sort to kick her heels for too long."

"Talking of kicking heels," said Jack, "I'd better make tracks."

Rose touched his shoulder. "Do you have to go?"

Jack was torn for only a moment. "Sorry, Rose. I've got responsibilities now – and that's all down to you, Doctor."

"Oh, that's right, blame me," the Doctor joked. "Take care, Jack."

They watched him go. "He'll be okay, won't he?"

"Who, Jack?" the Doctor grinned. "Yeah, he'll be great."

She laughed, but there was something bothering Rose. "So, how did the Rani manage to get hold of your TARDIS key?"

"She didn't." The Doctor held out two identical keys. "She had her own. She always did. We were… close, a long time ago."

That was when something clicked in Rose's brain. "She knew how to fly the TARDIS. So the Rani must be…"

"Another Time Lord," the Doctor finished. "I was wondering how long it'd take you to work that out."

"But you said you were the last of the Time Lords. That there was no one else left."

"That's what I thought." The Doctor strolled into the TARDIS, Rose behind him. "Just shows how wrong you can be, doesn't it?"

Rose saw the grim expression in his face. "But that's a good thing, right? It means you're not alone anymore."

He turned to face her. "Only the good people died that day, Rose. The bad ones are still out there somewhere."

And now Rose understood. "Like the Rani?"

"Oh yes," he answered. "Only much worse." He began keying in the dematerialisation sequence. "There's a lot of good in the universe, but there's danger out there too. And the worst excesses have always ended up on my own doorstep."

Rose linked her arm through his. "Good job you've got me around to watch your back, then."

As the TARDIS began its journey through the time vortex, Rose felt the Doctor's hand touch hers as she saw him smile. Whatever came their way in the future, at least for this moment in time all was right with the universe.


End file.
